Thread by @gabrielpiemonte

Chicago cannot provide #Reparations. That is a proper noun. It refers to a federal obligation.

Chicago absolutely can and must provide reparative justice. Ald. Stephanie Coleman is leading an effort to hold corporations accountable for their role historically in the slave trade

through her subcommittee in the Health & Human Relations Committee. I believe we need to provide robust funding for that subcommittee and to elevate Ald. Coleman to the chairwomanship of that committee. We need to talk about our economic obligation to the descendants of enslaved

Black American citizens, starting with the systematic displacement of Black residents through a series of massive economic ruptures in the economic infrastructure of South & West Side communities. We require reparative justice for disinvestment

in housing developments both public and private, the demolition of public housing without appropriate mechanisms to ensure relocation, redlining that continues TO THIS DAY, discriminatory rental practices, substandard housing conditions and more. This city has waged war on Black

people through housing policy for decades.

This is all required reparative justice. We will pursue appropriate compensation.

None of this is #Reparations

This distinction is essential, because we have to understand how profound that ultimate goal is. It is not a lawsuit.

It is not a slip-and-fall case. Only the federal government has the scale, the power, & the resources to begin to address the colossal harm and debt that must be grappled with.

We must move toward that federal justice claim while fighting for justice locally, in our communities.

These are interlaced efforts. They are also distinct and separate. Clarity will prevent confusion and keep us all on the same page.

#ReparationsNow and reparative justice everywhere.